


Breathe In

by Almost_Fair



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Belly Kink, Button pop, Chubby Barba, Chubby Kink, Teasing, Weight Gain, Weight Issues, belly appreciation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-04
Updated: 2019-01-04
Packaged: 2019-10-04 10:36:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17303072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Almost_Fair/pseuds/Almost_Fair
Summary: When Defence Attorney Rita Calhoun pays ADA Rafael Barba a visit, he looks very different from the person that Rita had seen just months ago. Teasing quickly ensues and Barba learns a thing or two he never knew about Rita.





	Breathe In

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Silential](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silential/gifts).



> Please check the tags. If it's not your thing, I get that, just don't read it, you probably won't get much enjoyment out of it.
> 
> I apologise in advance for the bad writing and, if present, the grammar, spelling and tense issues.

Barba leant back in his chair, struggling to focus on the case file in his hand. He tapped rhythmically on the desk with the pen in his other hand. As he approached the bottom of the page, Rafael placed the pen on the desk and reached into the dark brown box sitting next to him. Without looking up from the case, he pulled a circular chocolate from the box and slowly popped it into his mouth. A soft moan escaped his lips as the Belgium chocolate melted against the heat of his tongue.

After turning the page of the file, he reached his hand into the chocolate box once again to find it empty. _Damn_. With a sigh, Barba pulled his eyes away from the case to slide the empty box off his desk and into the bin.

He used this new-found desk space to place the case file next to his notepad. Barba tugged on his navy coloured waistcoat, attempting to get more comfortable in the constricting garment, before going back to continue his work. Leaning forward to rest his elbows on the desk, he winced slightly as he felt the waistband of his dress pants cut painfully into his lower stomach.

Barba was used to his clothes being on the tighter side, after all, he wasn't New York's best-dressed prosecutor for no reason now. However, he had a sneaking suspicion that this suit was quite a bit more form fitting then it was originally designed to be. While his right hand busied itself with making notes, his left hand slid down to where he could feel the flesh of his stomach push over his waistband. Pushing up his stomach slightly, his thumb wiggled under his waistband, trying to release some of the pressure on his lower stomach. It seemed to change very little about the fit of his trousers. Barba removed his hand and moved it to smooth along the curve of the waistcoat instead. Straining precariously, the buttons on the waistcoat witnessed the material around them gaping slightly to accommodate his middle.

Sighing, Barba looked back to the bin, where a corner of the box was poking out. The chocolates had been a Christmas present from Liv, imported especially from Europe. While it seemed like most people got him food-related presents nowadays, he always appreciated the extra effort Liv put in. He always made sure to return the favour. However, he is pretty sure those chocolates, and all the other food-related gifts he'd gotten, had helped to cause his current predicament. Gifts ranged from a box of homemade Cannoli from Sonny to a rather large hamper of various treats from none other than Rita herself. It was only his mother who had given him something other than edibles for Christmas, probably because that would only be “encouraging” her son’s hefty appetite.

He blushed slightly as his mind went back to that morning, to the image of him having to lie flat on his bed just to button his dress pants. Barba, however, refused to feel self-conscious. After all, his mother had had the suit made for his birthday in October and even 5 extra pounds in a fitted suit would make it snug. So, logic suggested he’d probably gained 5 or so pounds at most, the rest of the discomfort was due just to how the suit fit. He hadn’t worn a suit since before Christmas anyway. His mother would probably comment, but then she always commented on his weight, so there would be no change there.

And so what _if he had gained more than 5 pounds?_ He’d just cut back a bit, he thought as he blushed. It had been Christmas after all, he was allowed to indulge. He was a grown man. The tightness in his chest and the rising heat in his cheeks told him he was ready to forget about this train of thought entirely, instead, going back to focusing on the case at hand.

Shuffling his chair to reach the desk, Barba leant forward to pick up his pen, only for his chair to creak in protest. His exacerbated sigh of annoyance caused the fabric of his waistcoat to groan. At the second noise, Rafael stood up immediately, anxious not to strain the fabric of the suit to a too greater extent. Glancing down at his watch, he reasoned his mother wouldn’t be there for at least another 6 hours.  

Rafael Barba may have been a proud man who didn’t like admitting defeat to a waistcoat, but he was also not a masochist and with no one around to judge him, he slowly unbuttoned the waistcoat and shrugged it off, placing it on the back of the chair. He made a point not to look at the way the form-fitting ivory shirt fit his body and instead picked up his pen before sitting down to continue his notes. He was used to his clothes being form-fitting anyway, he could breathe relatively freely now and that was all he cared about.

With Barba’s full attention on the case file, he concluded that the evidence was solid, and it should be a relatively smooth court case, provided nothing gets in the way. It was as he was coming to the end of said notes when he heard a knock at the door.

“Come in” he replied blankly, not looking up at his afternoon visitor until he’d signed his name and closed his file. When he did eventually look up, his eyes were met by those of Rita Calhoun. She looked typically stunning, dressed in a slim-fitting black suit dress, with a designer handbag on her shoulder. The highly stylised look made the flimsy white plastic bag in her hand appear drastically out of place.

Barba stood up to greet her, smiling as he made his way around his desk in a slow but purposeful fashion. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure?”.

"You asked for my help on a case…" Rita replied, eyebrows raised as she waited for the penny to drop. It took Barba a moment or two but then Rita saw the realisation dawn on his face, with Barba’s eyebrows rising to be equally as high as hers.

"Oh, yes," Barba said, rubbing his face with his hand as he nodded. "I'm sorry, I've been so busy."

"Good because I brought lunch for us." Rita smiled, raising the mysterious white plastic bag in her hand to shoulder level. “I guessed you wouldn’t have eaten a solid lunch yet, so I thought we could eat while going over the case.”

She began to empty the white bag, placing the food on the table. She looks up at Barba who already has the case file in question in his hands and has begun reading. While he was distracted, Rita took the opportunity to look him up and down.

He was dressed in a form-fitting ivory dress shirt, with dark red suspenders holding up dark blue dress pants. Well, holding up might be the wrong phrase Rita thought. The ivory dress shirt was flush against Barba's midsection, straining slightly against the suspenders as Barba's stomach rested upon the waistband of the navy trousers. Rita briefly recalled Rafael mentioning that he was going for a meal with his mother today and she had presumed it had been dinner, but by the way the buttons on his dress shirt were straining, maybe she had miss judged.

"Unless of course, you’ve had lunch already?” Rita enquired carefully. Barba looked up at that point, no longer absorbed in the facts of the case, and quickly realised he had zoned out for a few minutes.

“Not unless you count a box of chocolates and four large lattes as lunch.” he laughed gently. Rita hides her shock behind her well-trained poker face, laughing along with him. Barba walked towards the table to examine the food Rita had placed there already. “What did you get then?”

“Well, food wise, I got you a footlong sub, some Doritos and a cookie.” She pointed at the items as she spoke. “I also got you a venti caramel latte as I wasn’t sure what you usually drink but I know you have a sweet tooth, Rafi.”

“Thank you.” Rafael’s cheeks went a light shade of pink, but he smiled nonetheless as he picked up the sub and started unwrapping it. Before he took a bite though, his eyes skimmed the table and he frowned. “Is that all you’re having?” He asked, pointing at the salad and coffee in Rita’s hands.

“Yes? Is there an issue with that?” Rita once again raised her eyebrows.

“No, no. I just wondered why you didn’t order us the same?” Barba rebutted, his features assuming a concentrated look.

Rita smirks, lifting her hand to pat Barba on the stomach and remark “you’ve always had a bigger appetite than me Rafi," his stomach giving slightly under her hand. Barba's blush darkens significantly, and he simply smiles and thanks her in response, before quickly turning his attention to the task at hand. Rita watched as he picked up the file, leant against the desk and started mindlessly eating the sub.

With Rafi distracted, Rita’s eyes returned to his midsection. Well, if his shirt wasn’t skin tight because he'd overeaten at lunch, then Christmas had clearly been good to him this year. The first thing she noticed was how soft his face had become. He seemed to have lost most of the definition in it, his jawline giving way to a double chin and his cheeks looked thick and doughy enough to pinch. His chest caught her attention next, having clearly softened enough for his shirt to crease slightly under it. From there, Rita’s eyes traced the love handles rounding out above his hips. Rita smirked thinking to herself that Barba had always had love handles, even at him slimmest, but the ones he was currently sporting were sizable handfuls. Finally, her stare rested upon his stomach. Barba had always been belly-heavy and his recent weight gain had certainly not neglected that fact. His stomach rounded out in front of him enough that his belly rested a good half an inch over the waistband of the dress pants.

How his clothes were accommodating this recent expansion was beyond Rita. Perhaps if the garments didn’t total over $1000 between them then they would have given in a lot earlier. That's not to say that the suit looked in any way comfortable, but it was simply a miracle that the button on the dress pants was holding.

 "You look good Rafi," Rita remarked, breaking the silence between them and causing Barba to look up startled. "You look relaxed for a change.”

“Thank you.” he blushed once again. “Christmas got you turning soft Calhoun? First, you agree to help me on a case, then you buy me lunch and now you are complimenting me." he joked, brandishing a friendly smirk as he took another bit of his sandwich.

Rita laughs in response, before playfully teasing that “if anyone has gone soft here, I’m pretty sure it’s you.”

“Well yeah, Liv insisted that I needed to relax this holiday season”. He clearly didn’t get the reference and maybe it was for the better, she was supposed to be focusing on a case after all.

\---

“Well, that about covers everything I can think of, any final comments?” Rafael asked, smiling as he placed the case behind him. Rita simply shook her head in response, glad for the whole thing to be over.

“Drink?” Barba asked, a little breathlessly, as he strode towards the tumbler of scotch sat on the small bookcase to her left. Rita nodded, and Barba proceeded to pour two glasses of the golden-brown nectar into two separate glasses. He handed her one of them though did not join her on the sofa, as she expected he would, instead deciding to remain standing as he had for the previous few hours. It was then that Rita took the first proper look at Barba she since she’d handed him his lunch, having been far too invested in the notes before her to notice Barba’s predicament. While Barba may have had no trouble finishing the rather sizable lunch, alongside snacking on some salted peanuts he had stashed in his desk, his clothes seemed to be struggling somewhat. Though, he didn’t look that much bigger than earlier, considering that he’d eaten enough for 2 people. Perplexed, she watched as Barba’s hands slowly lowered to his midsection and delicately started pulling at the material.

That’s when it clicked. The breathlessness, the refusal to sit even after hours of standing and his apparent inability to bloat. He was holding his stomach in. She only realised her gaze had lingered too long when she looked up to see the ADA was staring directly at her.

“Why don’t you take a seat Rafi? You have been standing for hours now.” She patted the sofa beside her and flashed a smile that was way too sweet for her usual self. She watched almost gleefully as the ADA's eyes filled with both fear and panic, his hand falling to the waistband of his dress pants. Realising he had no other options available to him, other than asking Calhoun to leave, he slowly made his way to Rita’s side before sitting down.

“Now breathe out.”

Rita’s smirk sent goosebumps down Barba’s spine.

“What do you-”

“Breathe Rafi.” Rita’s command left little room for disagreement and her smug smile informed him he had already lost the battle.

Exhaling audibly, Barba stared at the ground as his newly acquired gut inched towards his thighs. The material around the buttons on his shirt gaped exposing about an inch of the naturally tanned flesh between every button. Rita watched as the trouser button took the brunt of the force but, by some miracle, stayed in place. She also paid attention to how Rafael’s love handles hung out on either side of his waist much more significantly than when he was standing.

“And you’re not even full are you Rafi? Winter has been good to you.” Rita smirked, taking a sip of the scotch as she glanced over the rim of the glass.

“Enough, I know.” Barba snapped, unable to look Rita in the eye. He attempted to think of an adequate comeback but was distracted by the fact that he felt extremely flushed.

Rita could sense she had the upper hand. “How much is it this time, Rafi? 20, 30 pounds since I last saw you? Even with all your weight ups and downs, that's even impressive for you.” Rita stretched out her hand and pat the thickest part of Barba’s stomach, causing his eyes to flick up to meet hers, a mix of shock and anger clear on his face. “Well, I’m just glad my gift to you clearly didn’t go to waste.”

Barba opened his mouth to open to snap at Rita to get the hell away from him but falters at the look in her eye, one that he can’t quite place. It’s certainly not a glimpse of friendly concern, the look Liv usually gives him whenever he gains enough for his belly to push over his waistband. However, it’s not condescending like his mother’s, who would proceed to openly chastise him for his lack of self-control.

The look placed him on edge, the tension in the room growing, the anger he initially felt was replaced instead with confusion. Well, whatever game Calhoun was playing, he could play it too.

Barba exhaled audibly, looking down at his scotch glass. “Ok. I get it. Maybe I indulged a little too much over the holidays but even you have to admit 30 pounds is exaggerating a bit!” Barba stated, masking his intrigue in a false annoyance.  

Rita’s smirk only grew. “This” Rita remarked as she poked the skin visible from between the gapping buttons, “says otherwise.”

Once again, he had been caught off guard by Rita’s actions. Speechless, Barba looked down at himself properly for the first time in months. His attention was immediately captured by his chest. Despite his weight regularly fluctuating, the ADA’s chest had always stayed soft but slightly tone. Now, however, his chest rested slightly on the top of his stomach and that the button situated in the middle of his chest was straining in a way that suggested too deeper breath would be its end.

Then Rafael looked to his stomach. Unlike his chest, his stomach had always been soft, but this was something else. Barba now understood why the waistband of the pants seemed to cut him so painfully as he couldn’t even see the waistband of his dress pants, a decent sized roll hiding it. His thighs were a similar story, seeming to take up a lot more space then he recalled.

In short: it was definitely more than the 5 pounds he had hoped.

The tightness in his chest returned stronger than ever and Barba looked up to Rita, vulnerable. The glint in Rita’s eyes told him she was enjoying this far too much.

“Isn’t this the largest suit you own, Rafi? Your mother had it made for your birthday in October, did she not? I imagine the rest of your wardrobe wouldn’t even button now that you have really porked up.”

Who did she think she was-

Oh… Ohhhhhhhh. Now the look in Rita Calhoun’s eyes made _a lot more_ sense.

With the tension in his chest lessening, it was now Barba’s turn to smirk. “Been paying attention to my suits have we, Calhoun?”

Rita’s posture became more rigid and her cold exterior was replaced with a cautious look, “I don’t-”

“Or was it the _fit_ of my suits that interested you more?” Rafael asked, tilting his head to the side slightly and smiling.

Annoyance flashed across Rita’s features, hissing that “I was simply pointing out that it might be time for you to get a new suit and to cut down on the chocolates.” She nodded towards the box peeking out of the bin.

This only spurred Barba on further, as he gently took the wrist of Rita and placed it on the thickest part of his stomach. “Oh yeah?”. Barba inhaled deeply and pushed his stomach out into her hand. Rita took a sharp, shaky intake of breath as her pupils dilated.

Rita had always been one to tease him about something, especially when he gained weight. It was almost as if it was part of whatever had been going on between the two of them. However, right now, it was Rita’s turn to be on the defensive, her hand still resting on his stomach. This was a very interesting discovery, though not one he had expected to make when he struggled into this suit earlier this morning.

_Beep. Beep._

Both of them jolted from their silence as an alarm on Barba’s phone went sounding through the office. Fumbling to silence the damn thing, Barba recalled that he had set the alarm to notify him that his mother would be at his office in less than 15 minutes.

As he came to his senses from whatever the last 20 minutes had been, he glanced down at his shirt, becoming painfully aware of how blatantly obvious the straining buttons were. As much as Rita seemed to appreciate this view, his mother took a very different stance on his weight. Turning up to dinner 30 pounds heavier was already asking for trouble, but turning up like _this_ , practically bursting out of the suit _she_ had purchased him just months earlier- he’d never hear the end of it.

His eyes skimmed the room hastily for something to help his predicament, his features withholding his panic well from the defence attorney sat next to him. The waistcoat. He needed to keep his belly in somehow and while he could play off the waistcoat being tight, not even the ADA could play off how tight his shirt was. It would have to do.

He stood up quickly, his tone and features returning to their usual harsh and pragmatic nature. “Well, thank you for your help on the case and providing me with lunch Rita. I feel we have both… learnt a lot this afternoon. Always a pleasure to be insulted in my own office.” Barba coughed deeply before continuing. “Now, as I believe I mentioned last week, my mother will be here soon, so if you could please leave before she gets any ideas.”

Rita snapped back to reality, the blush subsiding on her cheeks and she simply nodded in response, offering her typical half-assed smile to the ADA. She began gathering her things silently, placing papers into relevant case files and the waste from lunch into the white plastic bag. She looked up to ask Barba where he wanted her to put his file but was instead greeted by the sight of Barba pulling at the sides of the undone waistcoat resting at either side of his stomach.

Rita’s shame subsided and her grin returned as she collected her files slowly and watched through her peripheral vision as he attempted to button the garment, blushing as even though he was sucking in his midsection, an inch gap remained.

Stretching to her full height, Rita sauntered slowly towards the bin beside his desk, her files tucked safely in her handbag. She dropped the plastic bag full of waste from lunch into it before looking up and ever so innocently inquiring, “Having trouble there, Mr Barba?”

It was once again Rafael’s turn to blush but this time he had lost all patience for niceties, greeting her eyes with a stern glare. “As you have already so gracefully pointed out, I was somewhat lighter when I got this suit.”

At this, Rita’s smile falters slightly. More gently, she inquires “then why are you wearing it, Rafi?”. As she comes to rest her handbag on Barba’s desk, she raised her eyebrows again. “How did you even get it on this morning?”

Barba sighed out dramatically (and dangerously considering the situation of the buttons on his shirt) as he let go of the waistcoat, to drag his hand down his face while turning from Rita.

Rafael spoke softly, making it hard for Rita to hear him with his back turned.  “I agreed to dinner with my Mother, as she hasn’t seen me since before Christmas. She asked me to wear this suit, she gave it to me for my birthday.”

His blush darkened as he turned to face her again. Rita noticed immediately the pleading look in his eye was the vulnerable side of Rafael that few got to see, hidden behind his arrogant behaviour and snarky comebacks. The side she honestly thought he’d left behind in Harvard. She recalled seeing the look for the first time in a very similar situation, some years ago, when, after a semester of partying and good food, he was unable to button his largest jeans. For all of Rita’s teasing, that look could pierce her like a pike – not that she would _ever_ admit that to him.

He waved his hand vaguely in front of his midsection, gesturing to the straining buttons. "It fit in October, maybe even a bit lose, but now the buttons on the shirt gape. I thought if I could put the waistcoat back on, it might not be as obvious. You know what she’s like about this sort of stuff. I should hav-”

"Enough," Rita instructed. "Face me." She pulled a very confused Rafael towards her, grabbing either side of Rafael's waistcoat. "Breath in." the corners of her mouth twitching into a smile. Barba did as was asked, though there was still some distance between the buttons and the holes.

“Come on Rafi.” Rita’s voice strained as the sides refused to budge. Rafael simply replied in the form of a stern but pleading look. Rolling her eyes, Rita pushed at his stomach. Barba pulled in his stomach once again as much as possible and Rita’s arms almost shook with the force required to get the sides to meet, but she managed to get the first and second buttons done up before Barba had to breathe out, panting slightly.

 “Always this out of breath trying to do basic tasks are you?” Rita’s eyes lit up playfully again, which simply warranted yet another glare.

The edge of her lips straightened as she, placing her hand on largest, softest part of his stomach “Is this the biggest you have ever been? I’m sure this is the thickest I’ve ever seen you.”

“Possibly.” He replies flatly, doing nothing to fight off her touch. He hated to admit it, but it was quite pleasurable. He hadn’t been touched in even a vaguely sexual way in, well… a long time.

He shook his head. He didn’t have time for this. He straightened back up, giving a nod to Rita, who began pulling on the third button, where things got a lot harder. “You’ve always been chubby,” Rita grunted, “But you’re certainly past that now. I’d probably describe you as _stocky_.”  

“Yeah. I know. We sort of established that.” Barba bit back, though rather breathlessly.

“And to think this fit in October. What have you been eating to pack on this much weight?” Rita didn’t even sound angry or mischievous, she sounded perplexed. They took another break, allowing Barba some time to catch his breath while Rita stood hands on hip staring at him.

“Look, ok, I got it on this morning…”

“As much as you might want to believe this is all due to me bringing you lunch, me, you and the waistcoat know that isn’t the case.” At this, Barba sent her a pleading look. Any other time, he’d entertain Rita, maybe even enjoying the teasing himself. But right now, he was more concerned about his mother walking into her son being forced into a waistcoat by a female friend.

Rita tried again but regardless of how much Barba seemed to suck in, the soft flesh of his stomach continued to obstruct the fastening of the button. He rolled his eyes and declared “This is pointless!”, releasing his stomach muscles and swatting Rita’s hands away.

“She’s going to see that her son has doubled in size anyway, so-” Barba spat hatefully, more at himself then at Rita. As much as Rita’s teasing got under his skin, she had a point. He had gained _a lot_ of weight in a _very short_ amount of time.

“Now who’s over exaggerating?” Rita bit back, defiance in her eyes. “Lean back on your desk.”

“There's no point-”

“Don’t make me ask again.”

The two attorneys locked eyes, and as usual, it was Barba who looked away first. For all his dominant personality in everyday life and in the courtroom, he was always the more submissive of the two when it came to situations such as these.

Barba moved and positioned himself so that he was leaning against the side of his desk, gripping the side of it for support. After another minute of struggling, the change of position seemed to allow the impossible and button 3 was fastened. Barba exhaled carefully, not willing to lose any of the buttons that Rita and himself had fought so hard to button.

Button 4 and 5 would be the hardest as they were situated at the largest part of his stomach, the place that bore the brunt of the weight gain. Barba looked over his shoulder, attempting to catch his breath, a task that became harder the more buttons that were done up. Holding his breath in for so long inadvertently caused the world to spin. Once it had stopped, Barba looked back to Rita.

He had clearly caught her off guard as she was staring at his stomach once again. Barba took his chance to turn a bad situation to his advantage. “Like what you see Rita? I didn't peg you as a chubby chaser, though I guess that explains all the comments and teasing over the years.”

Rita snapped out of the trance and fumbled for a split second. Speechless but not willing to give Barba the upper hand, she grabbed both sides of his waistcoat again, wiping the smile off his face.

She seemed lost in thought for a second but then she grinned back. “I wouldn’t identify myself with that term. But, if you are looking for someone who fits that description, try looking a little closer to home.” She began tugging at either side of the waistcoat before he had a chance to reply.

What did she mean by _a little closer to home_? He didn't have many close friends, except maybe the squad down at SVU. He furrowed his brow in confusion.

“Seriously Rafael? Don’t play naive with me.” Rita huffed as the waistcoat inched closer together. “His eyes are all over you whenever you are in court. And don’t think I didn’t notice the way his eyes lingered on your stomach.” She looked up to Barba expectantly. When she was met by a deeply confused expression, she just laughed and shook her head, before returning her focus to the waistcoat.

Who the hell was Rita on about? He didn’t know anyone who was into… well, that. Hell, he didn’t know anyone who was into him period. Barba attempted to focus through the lack of oxygen, as Rita continued to wrestle with the waistcoat. No. This had to be some joke. Some sort of cover for the fact that Rita clearly had the hots for his extra weight. But then again, Rita was a defence attorney, she could have come up with a better cover then that if she so desired.

He yelped as he felt a sharp pain in his sides - his love handles, as Rita’s fingers sunk into each side of his waist. “Earth to Barba.” Having caught his attention, she walked over to grab his suit jacket from the back of his desk chair. Barba exhaled slowly, glancing down to witness as the buttons on his waistcoat puckered around the edges as his stomach expanded to fill the available space. His chest and stomach felt embarrassingly constricted, once again.

Rita held out the suit jacket expectantly, announcing “your mother will be here soon.” He slid it on, while Rita helped to pull and settle the waistcoat, in a failed attempt to make the ill fit of the waistcoat any less obvious, before buttoning the suit jacket. Barba continued to pull at the waistcoat until Rita swatted his hands away.

Her look was softer than usual as she spoke but her tone remained undeniably mischievous. “Despite the suit being obviously too small, you look good.” Rita's eyes flicked up to gauge his reaction, he refused to provide her with one. She continued, regardless, patting his stomach lightly. “I would recommend ordering a salad tonight though, not sure the buttons will hold your usual appetite.”

As Rita stepped back to grab her handbag, Barba chose to ignore her comments and instead went to ask her who she’d been referring to. But before he could make the enquiry, the door to his office swung open, his mother strutting through the open doorway.

“Hello, mamí” Rafael smiled tiredly, quickly rounding the desk to greet her.

"Hello, Rafi." She replied as she looked between both Rita and himself. “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”.

"Nothing at all Ms Barba," Rita interjected, smiling sweetly. That smile may have fooled numerous juries, but Barba knew her better than to think it was genuine. “We were just discussing how good the suit looked on him.”

“Well.” Lucia held Barba at arm’s length and looked him up and down. “It looked even better 20 pounds ago. If I had known, I wouldn’t have suggested going for dinner.”

Barba’s face assumed a scarlet colour; his mother’s comments, especially about his weight, had always had a way of getting to him the way no other person could. He opened his mouth to respond but it was not his voice or words he heard.

"I have to respectfully disagree with you there, I'd even go as far to say it would look even better with an extra 10 pounds," Rita stated, calmly and politely but defiantly nonetheless.

Lucia Barba was not the sort of woman who was used to being spoken to like that and she certainly did not appreciate, though was seemingly lost for words. Barba exhaled heavily, buttons be damned.

“Now I really must be going, it was nice to meet you, Ms Barba," Rita stated, walking towards the door. "This is yours, Rafael." Rita went to hand him a file, but before he could secure his grip on it, she let go, allowing it to drop at Barba's feet. Without thinking it through, Barba bent down to pick it up.

He wasn’t sure what he heard first, the seams of his dress pants protesting or the sound of buttons hitting the ground. As he rose back up, file in hand, he was greeted by the horrified look of his mother and a grinning defence attorney. He noticed immediately that the pressure on his lower stomach and waist had completely disappeared.

Horrified, Barba looked back and forth between the two women before looking down. His lower stomach appeared to have escaped the confines of the waistcoat that now had two fewer buttons. Barba, blushing even more, had to suck his stomach in to confirm that yes, he had lost his dress pants button as well. Luckily, by some miracle, the seams of his pants seemed to have held, despite their vocal protest. Barba stood in stunned silence for a few seconds, attempting to come to terms with what had happened.

“It seems that even your suit agrees with me that you need to go on a diet. I only gave that to you 3 months ago. Why did you-“

Barba looked up when his mother's rant was cut off by a clicking sound. First, he looked at his mother, who, in turn, was staring at Rita. His eyes then shifted to Rita, who was facing him and seemed to be holding something up. It took him a second but he soon realised it was her phone. She had taken a picture of him, in his current situation.

Barba was about to lose it with Rita when she cut him off. “Certainly not the best picture I’ve ever taken of you but Mr Carisi will absolutely _love_ this view and we wouldn’t want him to miss out now, would we?” Rita grinned. Before he even had time to register what she had said, she exited his office. “See you around, Rafael.”

She left a stunned Lucia and Barba staring at the office door she had just exited out of. They both remained motionless and silent for maybe 10 seconds after she had left.

“Who was she?” his mother asked, finally turning to look at him.

"An old friend from my College days," Barba replied breathlessly.

He looked down at himself again and then once again back to the door. She had taken a picture of him. Like this. She had taken a digital photograph of his stomach hanging out the bottom of his waistcoat and having lost 3 buttons. And she was going to send it to Carisi. Sonny Carisi. The lanky cop down in SVU that he may or may not have been madly attracted to for the last 6 months. Rita was going to send a picture of him having burst out of a suit he had outgrown a month ago, to THE Dominick "Sonny" Carisi, perhaps the only man he’d ever truly seen himself with. How could this get better exactly?

He felt his pocket vibrate and he reached his hand in to see he had received a message from Sonny. Barba felt his chest tighten once again and he was finding it harder to breathe. His heart was beating painfully against his chest. The room began to spin, as the pressure in his head became unbearable, and he quickly made his way to the sofa to stop himself passing out. “Are you ok, Rafi?” his mother asked, sliding on to the sofa next to him and her hand on his back and rubbing circles.

As he regained control of his breath, he attempted to make sense of the situation that had just occurred. Why would Rita do that? It was clear that she was, despite her protests, into his extra weight and had a thing for humiliation, but to this level? Why would she take a picture and send it to Sonny? How did she even know about his crush on Sonny? He hadn’t been obvious, he hadn’t even told Liv, so how did Rita know? How did she even have Sonny’s number? What if-

Oh. No. Well… Maybe. It couldn’t. But it was the only thing that made sense. Rita had said to look a little bit closer to home and that _his_ eyes were all over Barba. Was Sonny into him? The possibility that he had told her he fancied him could be ruled out but Sonny was certainly not a subtle person by a long shot and Rita was an extremely perceptive person. But wasn’t this just wishful thinking? And that remark, especially about _his_ eyes lingering on Barba’s stomach. Was Sonny a chubby chaser?

No. No way. Rita must have had the wrong end of the stick. But, then again, Sonny always seemed to be offering or gifting his food, he had even made Cannoli as a Christmas present for him. It was a stretch, but then Sonny had always been an unpredictable person. And while Rita liked to tease, she wasn’t vindictive. At least not towards him. Was this her way of setting them up?

Looking up at his mother, he spoke softly. “I’m sorry mami but I think we might need to postpone tonight. At least until I buy a suit I fit in.” He gestured dejectedly towards his stomach.

His mother seemed as if she was going to start chastising him again but had second thoughts, biting her tongue for the first time in a long time. “Of course. It’s not like you can go anywhere like that.” She said, kissing him on the cheek before getting up. She glanced back as she reached the door. “Night Raf.”

“Night mami.” He replied, offering her an apologetic smile. She mimicked him before turning and leaving.

Now alone, lifted his phone to read the text from Sonny.

_Hey. I'm not sure how she got my number, but Rita just sent me a really cryptic message with a… interesting picture of you attached. Are you ok?_

_Want me to swing by your office?_

Barba thought for a second, his heart beating in his chest.

_Yeah. Sure._

As he slid his phone back into his pocket, taking a deep breath. He then began laughing heartily, sliding his hand down his face. Sonny coming to see him could only go badly but it wasn’t like he had any dignity left to lose today and he could really do with a ride home.

Well at least he’d learnt one thing today for certain, Rita Calhoun is human. Despite what her cold exterior suggested, she had interests and desires like any other person. Interests and desires that he could use to his advantage, he thought smugly, as he leant against the back of the sofa. Sipping his scotch, he made a mental note not to alter his suits that were that were on the snug side, rather, he’d keep them for his court dates with Rita. It’s hard to make a coherent argument when you are otherwise preoccupied.


End file.
